How to achieve health and energy

There is growing awareness in people's minds that racial exclusiveness may lead to disintegration of society and that integration must be worked upon, actively and consciously. It can no longer be awaited passively.

| May 23, 2012, 12.00 AM IST

Integration has become an important issue today throughout the world. There is growing awareness in people's minds that racial exclusiveness may lead to disintegration of society and that integration must be worked upon, actively and consciously. It can no longer be awaited passively. This issue that many have taken up is merely one instance of a struggle that is cosmic and eternal. The entire universe is a battleground, where forces of integration and disintegration clash in ceaseless conflict.

The second law of thermodynamics des-cribes how physical processes move inexo-rably towards randomness - losing heat, speed and definition: that is, disintegrating.

Yet, some other force is just as actively pulling all the loose strands together again. Without such a force there would be nothing to disintegrate in the first place.

The forces of integration and disintegration battle each other for supremacy in our own lives as well. Take the struggle between health and disease. If we wait passively for nature to take its course, we are merely giving strength to forces of disintegration, which thrive on passivity. To expect things "naturally" to come out all right in the end is not positive thinking, for it is not thinking at all. Integration follows only from actively pulling things together.

Health is a product of the integrative pro-cess. To achieve glowing health, one must develop the body as an integrated whole, not as a bundle of separate parts. We must bring body and mind to active harmony and recognise kinship with the surrounding universe. Yoga urges us to think of body and mind as a whole.

Learn to live in your body, instead of merely existing in it. True health implies a buoyant sense of vitality. It is not merely absence of illness.

Those who maintain a cheerful outlook, who forget themselves in serving others, and who are always constructively busy, rarely become ill. They simply haven't the time to be ill! If you concentrate on illness, you will tend to become ill more often. If you concentrate on health, you might invite good health.

Those who feel a deep sense of kinship with life and Nature seem to draw strength from the world around them. On the other hand, people who selfishly isolate themselves from the surrounding universe seem to grow old prematurely; even in their youth they never seem to be vital, complete human beings.

Integration must be consciously worked for. It takes energy to generate more energy. To return one's body to a natural state, it is necessary to eat natural foods.

Yogis emphasise the importance of food that is "cooling" to the system. Harmful food, they say, heats the system by introducing impurities that block the normal flow of energy in the body.

Excessively spiced foods, alcoholic beverages, too many carbohydrates, artificial stimulants, and stale or devitalised foods are unnatural and are said to have a heating effect. Overcooked foods have a similar effect. Fresh fruits, nuts, raw or lightly cooked vegetables, fresh milk and its products, and whole grains are said to be cooling to the nervous system. Anything that excites the body has a heating effect; anything that relaxes it, is cooling.

Try this cooling beverage: Combine two parts plain yogurt to one part water. Add sugar - preferably raw or brown - or honey to taste. The drink should taste neither sweet nor sour. Stir well and drink. A dash of lime juice may be added, if desired.

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